U.S.: No, it's not a Christian nation

Some will argue that the U.S. is a Christian nation, but our Constitution states, “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States” (Article 6, Section 3). This gave equal citizenship to all, regardless of their beliefs.

Our Founding Fathers wanted to make sure that in our separation from England, no religion could make the claim of being the official, national religion of the U.S. Our Declaration of Independence speaks of the “Laws of Nature” and “Nature’s God.” These beliefs came about during the 17th and 18th century during the “Age of Enlightenment,” sometimes known as the Age of Reason. The belief was that reason and logical observation of nature are necessary to decide the existence of deity.

Thomas Paine, who wrote “Common Sense” and “The Rights of Man,” was a deist, but was considered to be an atheist because of his attack on the Bible and Christianity.

MAX TUGGLE

Coeur d’Alene